Cisco worldwide channel chief Edison Peres sat down with CRN editors at XChange Americas this week for a wide-ranging conversation on partner enablement, vertical market practices, the importance of services and an update on the supply chain.

Shouldn’t there be a way to more effectively up-sell and cross-sell combinations of security, storage, networking, wireless, and other technologies to customers as more complete IT solutions offerings? And how can the right vendor partner support such an offering specific to your business needs in Canada?

Reports indicate that Apple is in mid-negotiations with major networks regarding a new 99-cent TV show rental service, which users could access via iTunes, and is about to launch upgrades to its iPod Touch and Apple TV to provide better video streaming capabilities.

Net neutrality proponents are slamming a recent proposal from Google and Verizon that would prohibit wireline carriers from discriminating against any type of Internet traffic, but would not penalize wireless carriers for doing the same.

Strategic alliances in the networking and infrastructure space aren't new, but ties have been strengthening on a number of fronts -- and even creating some curious bedfellows -- among vendors competing for hot markets like UC, WAN optimization and the data center.

Slide Shows

The security industry saw more threats and funding opportunities in 2017, with massive data breaches and ransomware attacks crippling major institutions, and vendors tapping into the deep pockets of private equity and IPOs.